--Sakura and Ezell, who had turned back to a certain level of the Great Capitol, stopped in the face of the smoke that filled the corridor, and then immediately ran out at full speed when they saw the unusual situation.

'Oh no!　Could it be that intense wave of magical power just now!
Let's hurry!　It's not a given that we won't get there in time!

　They ran through the corridors, changed by fire and smoke, and reached the vicinity of the doors of the Great Capitol without interference.

There isn't a single doll remnant ...... I knew it wasn't a raid.
......!　Ezell the Brave!　That one!

　The large, heavy door separating the hallway from the Great Capitol was blown off from the inside and left to slam into the opposite wall.

　It was obvious that it hadn't been destroyed from the outside, and the doorway where the door had been lost had been flooded with a fierce heat.

　Sakura and Ezell stepped into the Great Capitol without hesitation, and then were left speechless by the sight inside the hall.

　It was truly a hellscape.

　Every inch of the once magnificent Great Capitol building is engulfed in flames, and in front of the farthest wall, a huge pillar of fire rises up--a huge pillar of fire.

Oh, you gotta be kidding me. I can't believe I couldn't get them all killed in one fell swoop. Isn't there a limit to how far you can go?

　--No, that is not a pillar of fire.

　It's not the same as the one you're used to when you're not in a position to make a living.

　And right next to the flaming giant, Algernon, clad in black robes, was standing right next to the flaming giant, as if it were a matter of course.

''......!''

　Sakura immediately activated 【Shrinkage】 and swung her sword down towards Algernon.

　However, the invisible armor-like thing covering Algernon stopped the slash, and the blade couldn't reach him until he was just a few feet away.

''Kukko......!''
Hmm. ......?　Whoa!　Oh, look out!

　Algernon didn't seem to notice Sakura's attack at all, and after a few moments after the slash was blocked, he surprised her with an exaggerated bare gesture and kept his distance.

　Perhaps in response to that sense of urgency, the flaming giant let go of one arm from the gain and raised it at Sakura.

'Stop it, Muspel!

　However, it was none other than Algernon himself who stopped it.

　The Flaming Flame Giant dutifully listened to Algernon's orders and meekly lowered its arms to disengage its attack stance.

''Whew...... bad, bad, bad. No matter how much, I don't care how many times I have to blacken the daughter of Shiranui at the beginning of an encounter.
...... Algernon. This is your doing, ...... and the devastation of the town and everything else!

　Sakura maintained the pause in which she was pulled away and swung the cutting edge of her sword at Algernon.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it than the heat of the flames, but the anger that rises from the bottom of your heart is far hotter than the heat of the flames.

　It was as if it was going to burn your body and soul to the ground.

'I wanted to sacrifice your father for this!　That was such a massacre!　Answer me, Algernon!
"......!　...... I know it sounds like an excuse for anything you say, but let me at least make an excuse. Win or lose, I don't want people to think I was unfair to A(n)yi(n)yi(n)yi(n).

　Algernon frowned as if he were frightened, and then repaired the same scowling smile as before.

''The answer to your question is no (no). When I passed through the Demon King's Castle and arrived at this level, I never thought that I would have to do something like this. In the first place, I didn't have the slightest clue about the existence of the Asropolis,

　Sakura kept her sword pointed at her guard, but did not try to interrupt Algernon's narrative.

　Instead, she appealed to Ezell to look around and call for backup.

　Resuming the attack in a hurry wouldn't necessarily make things better.

　Although there is a risk of being stalling, but even with that in mind, we should hear what we can get out of them.

　Ezell's side also seemed to understand that they alone couldn't hope for a fight without knowing the current situation, so they ran away from the doorway of the Great Capitol building before any interference could enter.

　If I'm the only one, I can leave with [Shrinkage] - that's one of Sakura's thoughts.

'We wanted to go even deeper than here. But when we were looking for the means to do so, we were unlucky enough to find them.
"Automaton: ...... the true enemy of the Demon King's army?
Yeah, that's right. They have a condition: 'We'll take you to the third level if you help us attack the Asropolis.'

　Algernon spoke a little too quickly, spouting off more information than he had expected.

　Is it because he is defending himself because of his debt to his father, or was there not much of a desire from the beginning to do him a favor?

　It could be both, and it feels like neither.

I'm not sure what the purpose of the attack was, but as you can see, the most important thing they said was to assassinate the administrator, Fraxinus. Why they wanted to kill him, I don't know.　I didn't know what would happen if I refused, but ......

　Sakura stared at Algernon with a grim face.

　My father (Claude) didn't throw his life away in order to make me do this kind of imitation.
　I don't have to have been there to see it, but I can assure you that I was.

　You're not going to be able to refuse - before I could put that question to you, Algernon gave his own response.

'I had no reason to refuse!　I promised the guy, too!　He said he'll make your dreams come true no matter what!
But!　You used your father's sacrifice as a springboard to kill Fraxinus!　This is a fact!

　The cries of both sides clashed in the flames.

　In contrast to Sakura, who was barely able to hold back her anger, Algernon was slowly regaining his normalcy.

'Well, calm down. Fraxinus isn't dead yet.''
What ......!
We can keep sending in the flames of the Muspel, and there's no sign of them dying. I mean, he's poured enough heat into this thing to burn a whole town to ashes, and yet he's still able to defend those people in the Capitol.

　With an exaggerated hand gesture, Algernon pointed to an inexplicable bump in the surrounding floor.

　They are large enough to hold an entire fallen human being, yet they are scattered around in an irregular pattern, as if the floor had been deformed and raised.

I was thinking of taking the council members along for the ride, but they're all like this. Well, if he goes down, the protection will be lifted, so I thought we'd just have to compare our patience: ......
...... That's just a consequence. They probably did this with the intention of killing everyone and everything!
There's no denying it. I had a dream that I wanted to achieve, even after all this time. That's all there is to it!

　Just as Algernon barked, a cold voice interrupted him from the entrance of the Great Hall.

You're not the only one who has been in a position to talk. It's not as if you're still not done with them. It's not like you.

　Standing beyond the flames was the girl she had encountered in the human living quarters.

　Feeling a different presence from that time, Sakura regrasped the light red sword tightly, feeling a warrior's shiver.